The Torch Bearer
by Dr. Dee Da Dee
Summary: Shenn is finally deemed well enough to be integrated into the community of fellow patients at her hospital. Although un-trusting at first, she makes a friend who helps her feel a little bit more at home. This story is a sort of companion to a comic I wrote a while back, and because of the time it takes place, contains only OCs. Will up rating if advised to.


A muffled gasp was the only sign she was awake. Though only a memory, the feeling of her face being burned and the smell of smouldering flesh were still fresh; and she let herself sob dryly to herself for a few moments, glad that she was no longer surrounded by cooing nurses like a sick child.

Shenn had been in this… dormitory? Hospital room? Whatever it was, she'd been here for a month, and the only things she knew was that she'd been the victim of an acid attack, was permanently blinded by it and would now have to undergo rehabilitation to adjust to her new disability and help overcome the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder she had gotten as a result of it. No-one seemed to know who the guilty party was, or whatever happened to her cousin, who had been near her when it happened.

She sighed slightly at the thought of her relative and pulled herself into a sitting position, neatening the bed as she did so. Her cousin had been blind from birth, and since she and Shenn had been inseparable since early childhood, Shenn had learned a lot of about blindness and the ways to work around it. If it hadn't been for her cousin, she'd be much more lost that she was. She already knew how to visualise something from touch, navigate from sound, and read and type in braille as she would a written language. It was simply the fact that she had to do it all the time from now on that truly upset her. The only thing that seemed to be on her mind is how, even if she did meet anyone she knew again, she would never truly _see_ them ever again.

Breaking the purple frog out of her thoughts was the sound of knocking at the door; a sign that a doctor was planning to enter. Shenn gasped and quickly felt around for the silken cloth on her bedside table.

"Ms Shenn? Are you awake?" came the clinically gentle question from the other side of the door.

"Give me a moment, please" She replied monotonously, gently wrapping the cool fabric over her face. If there was one thing she was _glad_ she couldn't see, it was what became of her face after the attack. However, she was cripplingly self-conscious about it, and refused to let anyone else see her face. This is why she had more or less trained her care takers to wait until she announced that she was ready to be seen, so that they wouldn't barge in on her with her face uncovered.

"Come in. I'm sorry for the wait"

The doctor entered wordlessly, and the sound of a chair being pulled along the floor towards her could be heard. She could feel that he was sat opposite her now.

"I've got some news for you"

Shenn folded her hands on her lap, which, combined with her impeccable posture, gave her a very well-bred appearance indeed. She lifted her head slightly, a sign that she was paying attention.

"After your most recent review, we think that you're ready to be integrated in with the other patients. It will be almost like a campus – you'll be in a dormitory that you will share with several other patients, a common room, a communal cafeteria, and you will have some of your therapy and rehabilitation classes with fellow patients. We think that this will greatly improve your mood, and give you a chance to socialise with others. Is this agreeable?"

Shenn gave no indication that she had heard him other than a slightly deeper intake of breath. She remained silent for a few moments, the doctor observing her patiently all the while.

"Although reluctant," She began eventually, pausing as if to recall what she was about to say, "I will take up the offer. So long as the dorms for men and women are separated"

"Just as they would be for a normal campus, ma'am" The doctor smiled uneasily. Since her arrival at the hospital after the attack, Shenn had become not only withdrawn, but also seemed to show an increasing intolerance of men. The therapists were still working on a way to figure out just why this was.

"Then I'll go" Shenn confirmed, noting a relieved sigh and the sound of the chair creaking, a sign that the doctor was now stood up.

"The nurses shall gather your things and you will be moved into your new room by this afternoon, if that's alright with you"

"Yes"

The doctor bowed slightly, cursing inaudibly under his breath at the obvious mistake before silently leaving the room. Shenn did not move from where she sat until the familiar click of the closed door was heard. She turned her head to the side in thought. This felt almost as if she had been enrolled in some peculiar boarding school. She noted that the change of environment from here to just about anywhere was fairly agreeable and she allowed a sliver of a real smile to grace her lips – having a go at meeting some potential new friends didn't sound so bad.

* * *

><p>"You've used the stick before, yes?"<p>

Shenn refrained from sighing aloud. She _knew_ that the woman who had given a brief introduction to the layout of the building had seen her files before; the question was entirely redundant.

"Yes, I have. Will that be all?"

"You caught everything?"

"…Yes"

"Right then" it was clear the woman was finally cottoning on to the purple frog's impatience "I'll leave you to it. You know where to go if you need any assistance" and with that, the sound of footsteps and the closing of a door signalled her exit.

Placing her things on the floor, Shenn swiftly moved to the door and felt for the lock, bolting it briskly. She sighed. This was her first guarantee of privacy since her attack, and she felt some of her nervous tension slip away. She felt serene for a moment, just drinking in the silence and the partial independence she had finally earned.

Sighing, she set about putting her things away and familiarising herself with the layout of her room for easier navigation later on. Her room wasn't huge, but it wasn't as small as she'd expected. It had a fairly large single bed in the left corner of the room, right by a window with what felt like net curtains hung over, the main curtains puled to the sides. There was a chest of drawers near the foot of her bed, which contained most of her things. She was pleased to discover a small bedside table with a radio on it – she could finally listen to some music and radio shows again. Also on the table was a braille flip clock and a wooden block calendar, also in braille. She continued feeling along the wall until she found a small wardrobe was in the right corner of the room, which she probably wouldn't use much of the time, since she wasn't really one for wearing clothes like some Keronians were these days. She noted a set of Pyjamas - she may want to use them if the nights got cold - and a smock that she assumed must be there for medical reasons, though she was fairly sure she wouldn't need to use it.

She discovered that the rest of her room was fairly spacious and empty, which was just fine for her, so she returned to her new bed and sat on it, leaning her head on the window sill, resting her forehead against the window. She only allowed herself a brief moment to wonder what the view was like from here before stopping herself by internally planning what she would be doing for the rest of the day. Since she had only just finished moving in and it was now the evening; there wouldn't be much point steeling herself for the common room just yet. Still, it was worth trying to find it while there weren't many people around– it would give her another chance to get used to using her stick, and would help her out for future visits.

She stood up and shook herself out a bit, quickly finding her stick and threading the cord over her wrist. Using it to get to her door, she opened it slowly, just encase there may be someone walking past it so she wouldn't hit them. Closing the door behind her and locking it, she carefully made her way through the hall, permanently worried about crashing into someone, despite the fact most people would probably move out of her way or alert her if they saw her.

Surprisingly, it didn't actually take her that long to find the room, so she slipped inside so she could feel around it and familiarise herself with it. She was relieved that she couldn't really hear anyone, so she relaxed a little bit, trusting herself not to collide with someone.

She wasn't surprised to find that this room was roomy too. It was huge, and contained several pieces of furniture at various angles and places about the room. She felt that there was a television on the wall, and not too far away from it she felt a cabinet, which she left alone, not knowing whether she'd be allowed to open it. On the opposite side of the room were several picture frames, which probably contained paintings, but may well have contained photos. At the end of the room was one long window that felt strange to the touch, which probably meant it was tinted slightly. As she checked around the furniture, she noted another radio on one of the coffee tables, and as she had scouted out most of the room already, she decided to take a seat and turn it on, lowering the volume so it was a background hum, and simply sat back into the arm chair she'd selected and relaxed.

After what felt like just over an hour, she was planning to get up and leave, when she heard the door open slightly, and sensed someone pause at it.

"Hello there" Came a fairly shy greeting from the door. The voice was youthful, but not childish, and was obviously female.

"Good Evening" Shenn responded quaintly, instinctively straightening her back now that she had company.

"I'm sorry to disturb you…" Came the voice again, sounding conflicted.

"Not at all, dear. I was just about to leave, myself"

The woman in the doorway seemed to relax and she treaded quietly into the room. Sounds of rummaging around cushions could be heard.

"My friend left one of her books behind a while ago, and she's asked me to fetch it for her" She said, quietly, but with a note of humour in her tone. Shenn managed a small smile, and began to get up from where she was sat. Reaching for her stick, she was surprised to have it handed to her.

"Are you new here?" the woman asked genially.

"Yes, I am"

"Ah. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you around before. It's nice to meet you"

"You too… I'm sorry to have to cut this short, but I've had a rather long day, and feel I need to rest" the purple Keronian fidgeted nervously by the doorway, not being prepared to meet anyone just yet.

"Don't let me stop you. I'll see you later" said the young woman, a smile hinted in her voice. Although she felt rude for not introducing herself, Shenn promptly left the room. Surely, she'd meet this woman again, and when she did, she'd apologise for her hasty exit and properly introduce herself.

* * *

><p>The next day, Shenn awoke just in time to catch the radio commercial of her favourite brand of lipstick. It wasn't much, but she really loved listening to the voice of Ripapa as she sold her own product. Ripapa was probably one of Shenn's heroes, so anything relating to her, however small, was greatly appreciated.<p>

With that early morning treat, Shenn decided to ready herself to go out and meet some of the people in her dorm, and possibly find the kind young woman she had spoken to the night before.

Reaching for her stick, Shenn was surprised to find that it wasn't there. That was strange – she could have sworn she'd propped it up against the headboard last night. She thought hard about where she may have left it… she knew she definitely had it with her upon leaving the common room, and there was absolutely no way she would have left it outside in the hallway.

Getting out of bed, she felt around the walls and furniture to try and work out where she'd propped it up, but came up empty handed. She sighed in frustration. She didn't want to have to spend her first day traipsing around the dormitory in search of her stick… why, that would make her look so clumsy and forgetful. Alas, she didn't have much of a choice, so leaving her room, she slowly felt her way along the walls, not being able to remember the layout of the hall properly in her tired state, and could only assume she was hopelessly lost – perhaps even going around in circles.

She eventually found herself in a long hallway with many doors along the sides. It was silent, and the braille on the door signs each read numbered 'break rooms'. Where on Keron _was_ she?

Letting her breathes become shallower, she listened carefully for any sign that there was someone in this hall – she wasn't about to cover the entire hallway (which, judging by the echoes of her feet, was probably rather long) if there was going to be no one around to help her.

As luck would have it, she heard a very faint sound… a rhythmic strumming, likely the sound of an acoustic guitar. Using the sound as a guide, she made her way down the left side of the hallway, until she found a door that was slightly ajar, setting it apart from the rest of the doors, which were all closed and presumably locked.

Peering inside - out of habit, rather than a useful gesture – praying to herself that she hadn't walked in on a lesson, or worse, a recital.

"Excuse me" She asked, quietly, but loud enough to be audible over the music, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but I could really use some assistance, if you would be so inclined"

The music abruptly stopped, and several long moments passed that Shenn could only assume was the player of the instrument inspecting her.

"Not a problem" was the eventual response. Shenn resisted the urge to frown - that voice was unmistakably male – and instead entered the room fully. There was an awkward silence, mostly due to Shenn's pride getting in the way of explaining why she needed help.

"You're new here" The voice stated awkwardly, and Shenn nodded mechanically in response.

"I was situated here yesterday. Somehow along the way, I misplaced my white stick… I've been searching for it all morning"

There was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, which probably mean the man was now stood up.

"I'll help you look for it, if you like" he said, his tone of voice indicating a genial smile.

Shenn only nodded in thanks.

"Do you have any idea where you might have left it?" He asked, and she suppressed the urge to back away as she heard him approaching.

"I… don't know. I thought I'd left it by my bed, but it wasn't there when I woke up this morning"

"Not even on the floor?"

Shenn paused, before blushing bright red – she hadn't even thought of that! The idea that her stick may have fallen over in the night and rolled under her bed seemed like a terribly obvious conclusion.

The man chuckled gently.

"Don't be so embarrassed, sweetheart. It happens to the best of us" he said. Shenn nodded slightly, feeling an overwhelming need to slap him. But of course, that would be rather rude and improper, so she controlled the urge.

The man must have sensed her annoyance, as his next question was much gentler than the first.

"Do you know the way back to the dorms?"

Just how far had she walked? Swallowing her pride, she shook her head solemnly.

"I'll take you there, if you'd like"

Shenn pursed her lips slightly. She didn't particularly like the idea of being herded back to her room, but what other choice did she have?

"That would be lovely, thank you"

"Alright then-" he paused "I'm so sorry, I never got your name"

"Shenn. I'm Shenn" she said quietly.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Neroro" he replied, the smile in his voice returning.

"Alright, Shenn" he began again, surprising her by gently looping his arm through hers "let's go"

The gesture surprised her, but at the same time it pleased her. This man - Neroro – wasn't following the typical stereotype she'd unknowingly assigned to men because of past experiences. He was being friendly, polite and chivalrous - and he wasn't anywhere near as loud as the bumbling drunkards who used to live nearby her. Heck, he wasn't even being patronisingly clinical like all the doctors she'd seen. She was pleasantly surprised.

Allowing herself a small smile, she nodded at him and let him lead her through the many hallways she'd unwittingly traversed in her search for her stick.

On the way, Neroro had asked several questions about her – not about why she was here, but about her interests and life experiences. She found herself telling him about her education, her past jobs, and even her affinity for sweet tasting and smelling things. In return, he'd basically told her the same sorts of things; his home schooling, his job as a music teacher at a girls school, and even his circumstances of being here, leading her to the startling fact that he was in fact a fellow patient, and not a member of staff as she'd assumed.

The path back to her room was shorter than she'd remembered it.

Reaching her door, Shenn found herself almost reluctant to open it. However, she went inside, and sure enough, after a few moments of checking, she'd found her stick just under the bed as she'd thought. The sound of Neroro chuckling in the doorway caused her to smile whimsically.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, it seems that I've simply made a foolish error" she apologised.

"Don't worry about it. I was happy to talk to you" he replied.

Shenn smiled again.

"As was I"

There was a short silence.

"Will you be in that break room again tomorrow?" Shenn found herself asking.

"Yes. Why?"

She brought her hands in front of her mouth in a shy, yet thoughtful gesture.

"I would… like to talk to you again"

Shenn could swear she could physically _feel_ his smile.

"I-I'd like that too" came his surprisingly bashful reply.

"Well then" Shenn said, before pausing to feel for her braille clock "I'm afraid I have an appointment in a few minutes. I will see you tomorrow"

"I'll look forward to it"

Nodding as a goodbye to him, Shenn left her room and made her way towards the office of her doctor, the stick making it much easier to make the trip. She waited until she as sure he was also leaving, before smiling happily to herself. She rather liked her new friend.

**A/N**

**Okay so I'm super ill right now, which is basically the only reason I was able to finish this.**

**Sorry for the dark tones at the start, I felt mean just writing it XD**

**For those who don't follow my work on DevinatART, Shenn and Neroro are two of the four characters I created for a short comic about Giroro's mother going into therapy, the other two being Fotete and Kurere, who you may or may not have noticed getting a mention in 'Repairs Pending'**

**If you would like to see my designs for Shenn and Neroro, they share a reference image on my DA, which is linked in my profile.**

**If you've already seen my comics and shizz – do you think I managed to keep the two of them in character? It sounds stupid, since I created them, but I can't help but feel I butchered Shenn's personality in this (I added her dislike of men into this as a sort of extra development for her, which may or may not be revealed later)**

**Also, can you guess who came into the common room while Shenn was listening to the radio? Probably.**

**Pwaaaah anyway I'm gonna prolly nap or something now. Feel likeI've been whacked in the head with a small, blunt object. Owie.**

**PS. Ripapa is my idea of Pururu's mum, not a random name for a random designer XD**

**PPS. Was too tired to proof read this, which guarantees that it will suck but I'm ill so ner XP**


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